The Lion King III: The Great Move
by boonadducious
Summary: Simba has left, Kiara is queen, and it will be a bigger challange than anyone could imagine. My first TLK fic. It contains some of my explainations for the unexplained things in the movies. Please read and reveiw.


It all started in the late hours of the night in the pride lands. It was the time of the rains around Pride Rock, and all the lions that lived there were stuck inside. Prince Kovu and Princess Kiara were sound asleep along with their twin cubs, Tiama and Mohatu. The twins and their parents could sleep through anything, but their grandpa was another story.  
  
Simba was laying awake thinking about his loving wife Nala who was off on a hunt with several other lionesses the other day. He was worried about their health in this terrible weather. He was also worried about the health of his kingdom as well. He was completely oblivious to the fact that the runoff from the rain was trickling in the pride's shelter.  
  
"Simba," Vitani, one of the former members of Scar's pride, moaned. "Could you try and stop this water before it wakes up the whole pride?"  
  
"Oh, sorry," Simba said. He then started to roll some loose boulders over the opening to the cave to stop more water from coming in. Since Vitani was up, she decided to help as well.  
  
"Simba," Vitani said as they were working on the makeshift dam. "Are you still thinking about Nala?"  
  
Simba just nodded and took a short break. He laid himself down and let out a sigh. "That's not the only thing I'm thinking about, Vatani," Simba said. "I have been thinking about an ancient tradition of this pride that I haven't been upholding."  
  
"What tradition would that be?" Vitani asked.  
  
Simba let out another sigh and then spoke. "I'm getting old, and soon I'm not going to be here. You see, in the royal family when the prince or princess has a king's grandchild, it is time for the king and queen to retire and move on to the eastern prides. My great-grandfather did it when my father was born, my grandfather did it when I was born, and my mother did it when Kiara was born. It's obviously gone on even longer than that. I have just been holding it off because Zazu said that all that happened in my early years qualified me to get more time. Now I feel like I'm ready."  
  
"You're gonna leave?" Vitani said in shock.  
  
"Yes," Simba said. "When Nala returns I'm going to have the coronation ceremony for Kiara and Kovu. At the end of that ceremony is the time when me and Nala leave. We will go to the eastern prides where it is peaceful, and Kiara will be queen. She will be a good queen. I know she will. Kovu will indeed make a good king as well. Mohatu will make a good prince and Tiama will make a good princess. I'm sure Pride Rock will function without me. I just pray that the spirits of all the former kings will protect this land so that we remain as blessed as we have always been."  
  
Vitani loved hearing Simba's wisdom, but she didn't like to hear about Simba leaving. Simba gave her and her pride a second chance, and she could never repay him enough for that. Vitani just nodded as she knew that Simba leaving was the right thing to do.  
  
She and Simba resumed work on making the makeshift dam. As the work continued, Simba began to shiver. It wasn't because of his cold and wet paws, it was because of the fear he had. Not for himself, but for his kingdom. After the work was finished, he said a very long prayer asking for blessings on the nation that he would be leaving soon.  
  
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Nala and the other hunting lionesses returned two days later with the best hunt they had in months. They were soaked from the rain and exhausted form the hard work, but they couldn't stop talking about the great time they had.  
  
When Simba saw Nala, he told her of his decision. They cried together and decided to tell their daughter and son-in-law the news before they told the rest of the kingdom. The entire family talked about the decision for hours before even thinking about plans for a coronation date. When they finally decided on one, they rallied it to Zazu for him to tell the entire pride lands. Zazu brought along a little hornbill chick that he was training for the role of advisor after he retired. She was very perky and slightly annoyed the entire pride of lions, but she was reliable.  
  
Simba and Nala then told the aged Rafiki of their decision and Rafiki said he would go with them and leave the job of Wise One to his grandson. Rafiki decided he would perform the coronation, but that would be his last job as the Wise One. Timon and Pumbaa were also told of the news of Simba and Nala leaving. After much "deliberation" they decided to come to the eastern lands as well. They felt that it was their duty as the king's best buddies to be with him in every step of his life. In reality, the two carefree kids as they were called were getting old as well. They felt they needed to settle down although they didn't want to.  
  
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A lengthy coronation was preformed in front of the entire population of the pride lands. All that participated and all that observed were teary throughout the whole thing. The new king and queen were crowned by Rafiki with juice from the Karaca fruit and with dust from the ground. The same ceremony was done to all royal cubs as a babies as a way of initiation into the royal family. The ceremony was preformed again to initiate there new position in the family.  
  
Along with a new king and queen, a new Wise One was crowned as well. He was a young baboon named Kokobon whom was raised by Rafiki in the ways of the wise. Rafiki always called Kokobon his grandson because of their closeness.  
  
The rest of the ceremony involved remembrances of the lives of the king and the queen. Zazu talked about the story of how Simba defeated all odds to become king. Other lions told the story of Kiara and Kovu along with how the Outsiders became part of the pride. There were also stories of the childhoods of the royal family, old and new. Some said it was more touching than anything they had ever seen.  
  
Finally there was the ceremonial roar to the heavens preformed by the pride. The new ruler roared, and then the royal pride echoed, along with the new ruler following with another roar. When Simba became king, he was forced to make this the only initiation he had. He had already proved himself with saving the kingdom from the shambles anyway.  
  
It was then time for the 5 retirees to leave the pride lands. Simba, Nala, Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa walked on away from Pride Rock after Simba said a goodbye speech to the kingdom. They were given gifts of good luck from all the animals. The gifts consisted of sweet smelling flowers and some of the sweetest fruit in Africa. Simba remembered Kiara getting the same things when she was born along with Sarabi getting them when she left. When Sarabi left, however, it wasn't during a coronation. Simba had already become king. She was let go in a special ceremony after Kiara was born.  
  
As the five walked away from Pride Rock and headed towards the east, the entire kingdom watched in silence. Not even the children made a sound. The lions from atop Pride Rock continued to watch toward the east as some animals began to filter away. The lions continued to look east long after the five disappeared from sight.  
  
When they finally headed back in the cave that night, Kiara and Kovu nudged each other and their children as they prepared for the responsibility of handling a kingdom on their own. Kiara felt that the worst was over for the kingdom's troubles. Little did she know what had its eyes on her. 


End file.
